Okay. I was WAY too cool about that.
CHRISTMAS IS HERE!!!! FINALLLYYYY!!!!! Get the picture? I love this holiday! I love the lights, carolers, presents, candle-light service at church. I love it all.
Now as much as this is a perfectly good blog so far, we all know people on the other end of the spectrum that, for them, Christmas is a less than enjoyable time that may be tolerated at best. Christmas means forced time with family you aren’t close to, shopping around other people that can and WILL kill you if you get in their way, and worst of all, an empty feeling at the end of the day that makes you wonder: “Why all the commotion? Why can’t I just go on with my life?”
This whole Christmas theme idea had me thinking about why my favorite Christmas stories are “The Grinch” and “A Christmas Carol”. This is strange even to me, because usually The Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge are the mascots for those bitter against Christmas. I mean, these characters HATED Christmas…everything about it. Both had some rough childhood upbringings…but that’s a different blog. The point is, they were hopeless.
The problem, whether you love Christmas or hate it, is that usually our opinion of it is based on our personal experiences. I had a loving family that kept Christmas well. It isn’t difficult to get all warm and fuzzy thinking about it. On the other hand, many of us came from situations where Christmas was always split between one parent or another because of divorce. Maybe you see the commercialization of the season and feel that it has been completely stripped of all the meaning that it may have once had. For whatever reason, you have walked away disappointed, and Christmas is something you want no part in.
Now as much as this is a perfectly good blog so far, we all know people on the other end of the spectrum that, for them, Christmas is a less than enjoyable time that may be tolerated at best. Christmas means forced time with family you aren’t close to, shopping around other people that can and WILL kill you if you get in their way, and worst of all, an empty feeling at the end of the day that makes you wonder: “Why all the commotion? Why can’t I just go on with my life?”
This whole Christmas theme idea had me thinking about why my favorite Christmas stories are “The Grinch” and “A Christmas Carol”. This is strange even to me, because usually The Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge are the mascots for those bitter against Christmas. I mean, these characters HATED Christmas…everything about it. Both had some rough childhood upbringings…but that’s a different blog. The point is, they were hopeless.
The problem, whether you love Christmas or hate it, is that usually our opinion of it is based on our personal experiences. I had a loving family that kept Christmas well. It isn’t difficult to get all warm and fuzzy thinking about it. On the other hand, many of us came from situations where Christmas was always split between one parent or another because of divorce. Maybe you see the commercialization of the season and feel that it has been completely stripped of all the meaning that it may have once had. For whatever reason, you have walked away disappointed, and Christmas is something you want no part in.
This leads me to our Christmas theme this year at The Market Church. We’re calling it “Finding Christmas”. The basic premise is that for some of the people involved in the Christmas story, like Mary or the shepherds, Christmas happened to them; angels and all. For others, like the wise men, they were simply looking for something, and then they saw a star. Many of us have found hope and joy in this season; many are also hoping that there is more to be found. Maybe some feel it is beyond hope.
And then something happened.
And then something happened.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, very unexpectedly, they got it.
Christmas has nothing to do with what I bring to it. Christmas is, and always will be about what God brought to us. When the angel said “Peace on Earth and goodwill to all men” it was literally the first time God had communicated anything like that for longer than anyone could remember. And the craziest thing is that God wasn’t “cool” about it, like I tried to be earlier in this blog. He was so excited about the opportunity to bring peace to us, that he sent a choir of angels to announce it. He sent a star to lead the wise men to it.
I’m going to be honest about an aspect of finding Christmas: it’s not always easy. Scrooge had to face his past, present, and future. The Grinch had to realize it couldn’t be bought. But when they got it (ya know, that “ah-ha” moment?) it was life changing.
Let’s find the true meaning of Christmas together this season. The REAL Christmas is worth finding.
“And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say - that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then - the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!
- Dr. Suess
